Review of 2020

Now that 2020 has drawn to a close, we look back on the successful placements we have made last year and the diverse make up of candidates we secured jobs for. Whilst it has been an unusual and unsettling year, we are proud to say that we still managed to change many lives by matching the perfect candidate to their dream job.

Looking at placements made last year compared to 2019, we note that we placed more females this year, surprisingly, there was a big increase in senior vacancies filled. The split on age range of candidates remained the same and as always, we placed a diverse number of nationalities.  In line with Government policy, this year we have seen an increase in placements made for Emirati and Saudi nationals.

See here for our review video

2020 proved to be a challenging year for everyone, with global uncertainty we found that many vacancies have been ‘put on hold’ whilst companies weather the storm and many prospective candidates are not willing to contemplate new roles, preferring to stay in an organisation they know.

As a result, the number of placements made in 2020 compared to previous years is down, but thankfully jobs are still available and we see more opportunities on the horizon.

Last year has seen some success though and we are most proud that, along with our wonderful network, we were able to donate our time and represent our dear friend Neelam for free and find her a job which enabled her to remain in Dubai and support her son See here for more information

Being able to help people find their ideal career remains our top motivation as consultants, and we will continue to represent people in need.

Gulf Talent – in their recent study of interview invitations on their platforms saw a 50% decline in the average number of interview applications in some segments of the market.

Those industries hardest hit in the region are not surprisingly Aviation, Hospitality and Education with interview invitations dropping substantially, many workers from those industries are now actively transitioning their careers to real estate, admin and customer service roles.

Our expert in the field, Elaine Hardman, Inspire Selection’s Director of Executive Search & Recruitment for Higher Education & Public Sector acknowledges that Education has been hit badly – but can also see an improvement “Once the universities closed their doors to students and teaching staff, there was a sudden halt in recruitment. By June, online learning had developed quite substantially, and once students had committed to their courses for autumn, 2020 recruitment picked up and confidence improved. However, within the last month there has been a marked increase in jobs being advertised, the bottom line is that education is still a priority even though it may not be the same ever again.”

Overall the UAE has done a great job of minimising the impact of Covid 19 on its generally younger population and stable businesses, we feel lucky to be running our business from such an innovative country and look forward to working with our clients and candidates in 2021.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen and looking forward to changing even more lives in 2021.

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